Chimaev falls to Strickland at UFC 328, ending his unbeaten run
Khamzat Chimaev is the latest fighter to see his perfect record come to an end.
Despite coming out strong in the opening round, Chimaev quickly ran out of steam. His wrestling advantage faded as the fight wore on and Strickland took full control.
The build-up featured plenty of trash talk, but both men showed respect once it was over. Chimaev even wrapped the title around Strickland’s waist as a sign of respect after their clash in Newark.
Dustin Poirier questions Chimaev’s decision to wrap belt around Strickland
During fight week, Strickland came under fire for making comments about Chimaev’s religion, as well as targeting his family and friends.
After the bout, he apologised to Chimaev for his words in the build-up, an apology that appeared to be accepted.
Even so, it is the 32-year-old Chechen who is now facing criticism from former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier. Speaking on his podcast ‘Deep Waters,’ Poirier suggested that Chimaev has lost some of his intimidation factor after a tough fight week.
Poirier said: “The next fight, whoever he gets matched up with is gonna be tougher to intimidate because his aura took a hit this week.”
He continued: “I reckon with the back-and-forth, I thought it was real, like, I think his whole aura took a hit this week. And putting the belt on him, like come on man. They worked us for sure.”
Following his defeat inside the cage, Chimaev told Dana White that he was finished fighting at middleweight and planned to move up to 205 lbs.
Despite taking some damage during the fight without any major strikes landing cleanly. By the end of their bout however, Chimaev’s face showed clear signs of wear and tear and when looking at a recent photo of him after their clash just days later you can see what looks like swelling on both sides of his face around either eye.
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